KLOVE RADIO FEATURES – FEBRUARY 2024
HOW TO LEARN TO TRUST GOD –
Are you looking for another opportunity to grow your trust in Jesus? It’s coming. But it will look like your prayers were NOT answered. In John 11, when Lazarus had died, some were discouraged. Jesus rejoiced that He could now give His disciples another opportunity to believe in Him by faith beyond their circumstances. Faith is the only thing that will mature us, and by its definition, it is the ”evidence of things NOT seen.” (Hebrews 11:1) Responding immaturely to difficult circumstances only makes us weaker. It’s called unbelief and merely necessitates a comparable test at some point in the future. Disappointment means I’ve missed responding correctly to an appointed opportunity God provided. Crisis is always designed to show us we have another gear.
THE HONOR OF BEING POOR
There’s an enigmatic scripture in the Bible that assaults both conventional wisdom and the shallow values of this world. James 1 says, “Christians who are poor should be glad because God has honored them, while Christians who are rich should be glad because God has humbled them.” So, what are the true riches of poor people? James 2 further surprises us by saying, “God has chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith.” WOW! What a counter-intuitive concept. The Bible says, “God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful.” (1 Corinthians 1:27) While Earth pities the poor, Heaven honors them.
DON’T FEAR THE UNKNOWN
I retired at 70 a few years ago after 21 years of pastoring. Not because I knew what the next dimension of my life would be but because I sensed that season of my life was over. Hebrews 8 says, “By faith, Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.” (Hebrews 11:8) When we think we know the future, we cease to be Spirit-led and begin to make decisions based on feelings and circumstances. This will always get us off track. Every God-ordained transition in life will lead us into the unknown. . . unknown to us but pre-ordained by God. Don’t be afraid of going into the unknown in your next season. It’s the only way God can make us like Him and build faith muscles.
WHY OUR CONCERN IS INCREASING
There are two primary reasons each of us is increasingly concerned about our lost loved ones. The first is connected to a world that is becoming not just increasingly unhinged (I.e., elections, covid, and attacks on Israel) but due to the deceptive mediums of this age becoming exponentially more treacherous to our children and grandchildren. This reality is designed to bring us to our knees in prayer, crying out to God to protect those we love. The second reason for our increased concern is to provoke us to pray that God will awaken those we love to their true identity and destiny. As with Jesus, the result of responding correctly to the alarming concerns of this age is a fully awake life filled with faith to move mountains and a passion to raise the dead. Jesus is calling!
WHEN GOD QUIETS OUR VOICE
When the angel told Zacharias, the priest, that his prayer had been heard, Zacharias said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years.” (Luke 1:13, 18) This doubt-filled response to the angel’s promise caused Zacharias to lose his voice and not speak for nine months. It was God’s only way to get Zacharias back on a faith-filled track. Since our words will always produce life or death, God will quiet our voice to prevent us from subverting our destiny. God’s Word is all we’ll ever need when we want proof. On the other hand, Mary, the mother of Jesus, said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to Your word.” (Luke 1:38)
GIVING YOUR EMPTY LIFE MEANING
Everyone wants their empty lives to have meaning. But, filling it with our will never works. Emptiness just leads to more emptiness. If we reject the free gift of everlasting life Jesus offers, no “life replacement” will satisfy us. Jesus died to give us His magnificent life freely. If we refuse God’s gracious offer because nature abhors a vacuum, the hole in our heart will be filled with a shallow substitute . . . an unfulfilling lie. Accept no substitutes for the Promises of God; they are irreplaceable. God “has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.” (2 Peter 1:4) Jesus, fill us with the fruit of Your perfect will for each of our lives.